Workers' concerns
After many years working as a worker far from home, Mr. Nguyen Duy Phuong (born in 1987, from Hau Giang) decided to return to Can Tho City to both find a job and conveniently take care of his family.
Previously, he worked at a business in an industrial park in Tay Ninh, in charge of the leather scrubbing and silk pulling stages. In years with abundant orders, he often worked overtime, earning about 13-16 million VND/month, sometimes exceeding 15 million VND.
However, when the business changed the way of organizing shifts, overtime hours decreased, and his income was only about 8-9 million VND/month. No longer enough to cover living expenses, he quit his job and returned to Can Tho to work as a construction worker with an income of more than 10 million VND per month.
Despite having a stable job, financial pressure is still constant. His two children are of school age, one of whom studies in Ho Chi Minh City. In addition, he and his wife also have to take care of their elderly parents and nephew.
Family spending is increasing, electricity, food, and tuition fees are all increasing. If salaries are adjusted higher, workers will be less stressed, but the most desired thing is still that prices do not increase according to salaries," Mr. Phuong shared.
Not only Mr. Phuong, according to Lao Dong's records, the desire to increase salaries to improve income, but accompanied by price control is also the mindset of many workers.
Wage increases need to go hand in hand with price stabilization
Exchanging about the proposal of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor with two options for increasing the regional minimum wage from January 1, 2027 by 8.5% and 9.8%, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thuong Lang - Senior Lecturer at the National Economics University, said that both options have a basis. However, in the current context, the option of increasing by 9.8% is more appropriate.
In the current context of the Vietnamese labor market, adjusting the minimum wage is mainly to partially compensate for increased living costs, but cannot fully reflect the value of labor as in developed labor markets.
Therefore, the nearly 10% increase option is more appropriate, contributing to improving income and reducing the pressure of living expenses for workers," Mr. Lang assessed.
According to Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thuong Lang, when determining the minimum wage increase, the most important factor is still the living standard of workers.
The goal of adjusting the minimum wage is to ensure that real income is not eroded by inflation, thereby helping workers stabilize their lives. When income is improved, workers will be assured to work, improve productivity and be attached to the business for a long time," he said.
Experts emphasize that wage increases will only be truly effective if they are accompanied by solutions to control inflation and stabilize prices.
According to him, if wages increase but electricity, gasoline, food, tuition, hospital fees... also increase simultaneously, the actual income of workers will almost not improve.
He believes that along with adjusting the minimum wage, it is necessary to strengthen social security policies such as supporting public transportation, healthcare, education costs or maintaining the stability of prices of essential goods.
Only then will workers truly benefit from salary increases," Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thuong Lang emphasized.
Meanwhile, Dr. Nguyen Tu Anh - Director of Policy Research at Vin University, an independent member of the National Wage Council - said that wage increases are necessary because Vietnam is setting a double-digit growth target. When the economy grows, it is necessary to share benefits with workers, especially vulnerable groups, directly affected by the minimum wage.
Besides, in the first 3 months of 2026, the unemployment rate is low, only about 2.21%. Labor productivity in 2025 has increased by over 6%.
Therefore, the pressure on the labor market is not too high, so we have room to increase wages," Dr. Nguyen Tu Anh stated.
